The Digital Dollar Project firmly believes that privacy is a fundamental human right. The advent of the digital age has introduced new challenges, sparking discussions around online privacy, data protection, and the delicate equilibrium between individual rights and national security. The rise of digital commerce and the exponential increase in digital footprints have prompted a reevaluation of what constitutes private information. The Digital Dollar Project recognizes that this era of innovation presents a unique opportunity to reassess privacy standards, aiming to surpass the norms established in a data-driven economy.

While opinions on the merits and design of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) vary, there is a growing consensus that if the United States were to introduce a digital dollar, it must reflect the democratic values of a free society, including financial privacy and economic freedom.

These ideals are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, assembly, and worship, along with the Fourth Amendment’s right to personal privacy. Derived from this amendment is a body of jurisprudence that delineates the balance between an individual’s privacy rights and the federal government’s limited authority to infringe upon that privacy for legitimate reasons, such as law enforcement, national defense, or other compelling objectives.

In current public discourse, there’s a prevailing assumption that CBDCs cannot protect users’ privacy while also ensuring individual and national security through adherence to various regulations and policies, such as Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). However, with the advent of innovative technologies and governance structures, it’s no longer a binary choice requiring the sacrifice of one for the other.